The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention has initiated a strategic effort to leverage the current Republican majorities in Congress and the executive branch to defund Planned Parenthood by eliminating the organization’s federal funding. The ERLC is mobilizing Southern Baptists to achieve this objective during the ongoing congressional reconciliation process, through various means, including a public sign-on letter.
- What is reconciliation? Reconciliation is a legislative means through which Congress can pass items related to the budget, tax issues, or other matters of fiscal importance. The defund Planned Parenthood campaign specifically targets the allocation of federal funds to the organization.
- Why is it helpful? What makes this process helpful for defunding Planned Parenthood is that the typical vote threshold of 60 in the Senate is reduced for reconciliation bills to require only a simple majority, allowing Republicans to pass policies like defunding Planned Parenthood without the support of Democrats.
“Republicans have had historic commitments and made pledges that see clearly the evil that Planned Parenthood is responsible for, the millions of deaths of preborn children, and the ways that they target vulnerable mothers …,” ERLC President Brent Leatherwood told the Christian Post.
“And with the reconciliation process beginning with a Republican House, a Republican Senate, and a Republican-controlled White House, we think now is the time to follow through on those commitments and fully defund Planned Parenthood so that taxpayer resources aren’t going to this sort of horrific behavior and activity.”
Go deeper: Read the full story at Baptist Press.
Christian Writer 